NO HEADLINE
| MOVIE | WHAT IT’S ABOUT | DETAILS | TIMES AND LOCATIONS |
Opening: Before Sunset | Nine years after they first met on a French train and spent a night connecting the way people seldom do, American writer Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and French beauty Celine (Julie Delpy) reunite in Paris and talk about what was, what might have been and what might still be possible. | Running time: 1:20 Rating: R (language and sexual references) | Newport: 1:10, 3:05, 5, 6:55, 9. |
| De-Lovely | Kevin Kline plays real-life composer Cole Porter, a man whose songs (“Anything Goes,” “Night and Day”) were as unforgettable as his personal life was confused. | Running time: 2:05 Rating: PG-13 (sexual content) | NorthTown Mall: 12:35, 3:50, 7:10, 9:55. River Park Square: 1:10, 4:15, 7:10, 10. |
| Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle | Korean-American accountant Harold (John Cho) and his roommate, Indian-American medical-school hopeful Kumar (Kal Penn), embark on a sojourn through northern New Jersey to quench their attack of munchies with White Castle hamburgers. | Running time: 1:27 Rating: R (strong language, sexual content, drug use, crude humor) | NorthTown Mall: 12:05, 2:20, 4:50, 7:20, 9:50. River Park Square: 2:15, 5, 7:15, 9:25. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:05, 4:40, 7, 9:35. Coeur d’Alene: 1:50, 4:25, 6:50, 9:20. |
| The Manchurian Candidate | Haunted by persistent dreams, a Persian Gulf War veteran (Denzel Washington) tries to convince others that he and his fellow former prisoners of war, including vice presidential candidate Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), have been brainwashed. | Running time: 2:10 Rating: R (violence, some language) | NorthTown Mall: 12:40, 4, 7:05, 10. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:35, 6:40, 9:45. Showboat: 1:15, 4, 6:50, 9:40. River Park Square: 12:25, 1:25, 3:30, 4:20, 6:30, 7:20, 9:30, 10:25. Post Falls: 1:15, 4, 6:30, 9. |
| Metallica: Some Kind of Monster | Three years in the making, this documentary by the co-directors of “Paradise Lost: The Murders at Robin Hood Hills,” takes us into the backstage world of the heavy-metal band Metallica. | Running time: 2:10 Rating: NR | River Park Square: 1:45, 4:50, 7:35, 10. |
| Thunderbirds | When Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton) and his elder sons, who make up the rescue team called The Thunderbirds, are threatened by a supervillain (Ben Kingsley), the youngest Tracy (Brady Corbett) and his friends must come to the rescue. | Running time: 1:34 Rating: PG (intense action sequences and language) | River Park Square: 12:20, 3, 5:30, 7:50, 10:05. Spokane Valley Mall: 1:45, 4:10, 6:55, 9:30. Coeur d’Alene: 2:20, 4:40, 7:20, 9:25. |
| The Village | When a young man (Joaquin Phoenix) walks into the dark woods surrounding his home, he breaks the long-held truce between his fellow villagers and the creatrues who live among the trees. | Running time: 1:47 Rating: PG-13 (a scene of violence and frightening situations) | NorthTown Mall: 12:30, 1, 3:20, 4:05, 7, 7:30, 9:45, 10:15. River Park Square: 12:30, 1:15, 3:15, 4, 6:45, 7:30, 9:35, 10:15. Spokane Valley Mall: 1:30, 4:20, 7:10, 10. Post Falls: 12:55, 4:45, 7, 9:15. Showboat: 1:30, 4:10, 7, 9:45. |
Continuing: Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk | Writer-director Marc Fafard uses the IMAX camera to explore how sports such as base-jumping affect the human physiology. | Running time: :40 Rating: Not Rated (thrilling action scenes) | Imax (Riverfront Park): 11:35 a.m. |
Anchorman ••1/2 | It’s the 1970s and San Diego’s favorite newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), is king of the airwaves. When Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) enters his domain, it’s a whole new world. Working like an extended “Saturday Night Live” skit, “Anchorman” is the occasional guffaw languishing between long sequences of yawn-inducing silliness. | Running time: 1:30 Rating: PG-13 (sexual humor, language and comic violence) | NorthTown Mall: 12:20, 2:35, 5:05, 7:25, 9:40. River Park Square: 1:05, 3:40, 6:35, 9. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:10, 4:50, 7:20, 10:10. Showboat: 2, 4:40, 6:55, 9:15. |
Bourne Supremacy •••1/2 | Framed for a botched operation, trained assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is forced to reassume his killing ways to protect himself and the woman he loves (Franka Potente). Damon may not be the most obvious choice to play a superspy, but in the hands of Paul Greengrass, he and the chase scenes he performs feel more real than any James Bond moment. | Running time: 1:48 Rating: PG-13 (violence and intense action, and for brief language) | NorthTown Mall: noon, 12:50, 2:30, 3:45, 5, 6:45, 7:35, 9:20, 10:05. River Park Square: 1:20, 2, 4:10, 4:40, 7, 7:40, 9:45, 10:15. Spokane Valley Mall: 1:25, 2:20, 4:05, 6:30, 7:15, 9:25, 9:55. Coeur d’Alene: 2, 4:35, 7:10, 9:40. Post Falls: 1:10, 4:10, 6:50, 9:10. |
Catwoman ••1/2 | Murdered after stumbling on to a corporate secret, Patience Philips (Halle Berry) becomes Catwoman, a creature with superpowers who walks the delicate line between good and evil. There’s not much here that’s fresh, but Berry sure looks good, both as Patience and as her kittenish alter ego. | Running time: 1:44 Rating: PG-13 (action violence and some sensuality) | NorthTown Mall: 12:10, 2:40, 5:10, 7:40, 10:10. River Park Square: 1:35, 4:05, 6:50, 9:20, 10:10. Spokane Valley Mall: 2, 5, 8. Post Falls: 1:30, 4:30, 7:10, 9:20. Showboat: 1:50, 4:30, 7:20, 9:55. |
The Chronicles of Riddick •• | There are only so many stories to tell, or so it seems. This Vin Diesel vehicle borrows from Shakespeare (“Macbeth”) among others to tell the continuing story of Riddick, the furious Furion with a heart behind those luminous see-in-the-dark eyes. The antihero from “Pitch Black” this time battles the forces of darkness, called Necromongers, who are led by their Lord Marshall (Colm Feore) in a quest to conquer the universe. Director David Twohy tries for greatness but gives us sci-fi silliness instead. | Running time: 1:55 Rating: PG-13 (intense sequences of violent action and language) | Coeur d’Alene Discount: 1:45, 4:15, 6:40, 9. |
A Cinderella Story •• | This updated version of the “Cinderella” story features Hilary Duff as an overworked, underloved teenager who defies her stepmother (Jennifer Coolidge) to attend the big Halloween dance where she meets her prep prince (Chad Michael Murray). The movie’s a pumpkin, but it’s not Duff’s fault. | Running time: 1:36 Rating: PG (mild language, innuendo | NorthTown Mall: 11:55 a.m., 2:25, 4:55, 7:15, 9:35. River Park Square: noon, 2:30, 4:55, 7:35, 9:55. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:25, 4:55, 7:35, 10:05. Coeur d’Alene: 4:50, 7:25. |
Day After Tomorrow ••1/2 | A government scientist (Dennis Quaid) battles disbelieving politicians (Kenneth Welsh et al.) while trying to convince the world that a new ice age is coming. Meanwhile, his son (Jake Gyllenhall) and self-sacrificing physician wife (Sela Ward) struggle to save themselves. Questionable science, a time collapse from several thousand years to, uh, this afternoon and barely adequate acting from the standard troupe of characters are not nearly as bad as the fact that this Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day”) film has no ending. It dissipates, just as the digital snowstorm does. | Running time: 2:04 Rating: PG-13 (for intense situations of peril) | Garland: 7:10. Coeur d’Alene Discount: 1:35, 4, 6:30, 8:55. |
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story •••1/2 | When their gym is threatened by a sleek corporate group managed by an airhead muscle-boy (Ben Stiller), a group of losers (headed up by Vince Vaughn) enters a dodgeball tournament in the hopes of winning the cash prize. Cleverly written, quickly paced, always irreverent, “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” may never be confused with “Shakespeare in Love,” but it just may become as much of a cult favorite as, say, “Animal House.” | Running time: 1:32 Rating: PG-13 (rude and sexual humor, language) | Newport: 1:30, 3:45, 6:25, 8:40. Coeur d’Alene Discount: 1:10, 3:30, 5:30, 7:25, 9:20. |
Elf •• | Will Ferrell takes every comic bit that he’s used in his numerous “Saturday Night Live” routines, not to mention movies such as “Old School” and “Zoolander,” and uses them to pump life into what is basically a stupid story. Ferrell is Buddy D. Elf, a human raised in Santa’s workshop who travels to New York City to find his father (James Caan) | Running time: 1:35 Rating: PG ( (mild rude humor, language) | Spokane Valley Mall: Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 a.m. |
Fahrenheit 9/11 ••• | Michael Moore (“Bowling for Columbine”) takes on the Bush administration’s war on Iraq. Moore’s so-called truth is similar to what Oliver Stone put forth in “JFK.” Yet his shotgun approach to accusation does, at times, hit dead-on. At the very least he’s forcing public debate instead of joining the lock-step march toward war that revered journalists such as Dan Rather tend to do with alarming enthusiasm. | Running time: 2:00 Rating: R (violent, disturbing images) | Newport: 1:20, 3:50, 6:20, 8:55. River Park Square: 1, 3:55, 6:55, 9:40. Coeur d’Alene Discount: 1, 3:45, 6:15, 8:45. |
Garfield • | This children’s film offers a plot that Adam Sandler would find simple: Garfield (voice by Bill Murray) gets used to the new house dog Odie, his master Jon (Breckin Meyer) gets romantic with a pretty veterinarian (Jennifer Love Hewitt). The complication, so to speak, comes when a TV personality kidnaps Odie. Despite Murray, this film offers up not one funny moment. There’s nothing objectionable, though, unless you like to have your kids actually think about what they’re watching. | Running time: 1:27 Rating: PG (brief mild language) | Garland: 2:10. |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban • 1/2 | The transition from Chris Columbus to Alfonso Cuaron has propelled J.K. Rowling’s child hero into the difficult teen years. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is 13 and back for his third year at Hogwarts. Like any kid approaching maturity, he acts with impatience, impetuousness and the occasional temper tantrum. He’s after the man who he thinks killed his parents. | Running time: 2:16 Rating: PG (frightening moments, creature violence and mild language) | Imax (Riverfront Park): 2:40, 7:20. Newport: 1:50, 4:45, 7:40. River Park Square: 12:05, 3:20. |
The Human Body • | In following a family of four, this product of an award-winning BBC Television and The Learning Channel series (“Intimate Universe: The Human Body”) shows body parts and functions, including a birth. | Running time: :43 Rated: Not Rated | Imax (Riverfront Park): 10:30 a.m. |
I, Robot ••1/2 | When the designer (James Cromwell) of a new line of robots is murdered, a homicide detective (Will Smith) suspects that a businessman (Bruce Greenwood) is manufacturing dangerously defective machines. Guess what he finds? Big bangs and lots of formulaic booms. | Running time: 1:54 Rating: PG-13 (intense stylized action, brief partial nudity) | NorthTown Mall: 12:25, 3:30, 6:30, 9:30. River Park Square: 12:40, 3:35, 5:10, 6:25, 7:45, 9:10, 10:30. Spokane Valley Mall: 1:40, 4:30, 7:30, 10:15. Post Falls: 1, 4:15, 6:45, 9:05. Showboat: 1:40, 4:20, 7:10, 9:50. |
King Arthur •• | “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua updates the legend of the English king (Clive Owen), his queen Guinevere (Keira Knightley), the knight Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd) and their attempts to establish … what, a modern state of free people? In the 5th century? Please. Not even Owen’s blue eyes and Knightley’s scanty costumes can save this big-budget turkey. | Running time: 2:05 Rating: PG-13 (intense battle sequences, a scene of sexuality, language) | Newport: 12:50, 3:25, 6:10, 8:45. River Park Square: 6:40, 9:50. |
| Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West | This new big-screen IMAX movie condenses the three-year Lewis and Clark expedition into 42 minutes, but what the film does, it does beautifully. Director Bruce Neibaur does an exceptional job of capturing the glory and scope of the West, making us feel as if we are part of the expedition, seeing this vast country for the first time. – Jim Kershner, The Spokesman-Review. | Running time: :42 Rating: Not Rated (general audiences) | Imax (Riverfront Park): 12:40, 6:25. |
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ••• | As a stand-alone film, “The Return of the King” suffers from too many characters, too many story lines and too many similar names for the uninitiated to understand. But for those who have prepared by seeing the “extended” versions of the first two, this finale is everything it needs to be: sweeping, majestic and as profound as fantasy can be. | Running time: 3:21 Rating: PG-13 (intense battle sequences, frightening images) | Free showing at the Garland, Monday-Thursday at 9:30 a.m. |
Napoleon Dynamite •••1/2 | Morose and antisocial, Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) is the supreme geek of his Preston, Idaho, high school. But he’s determined to survive, to help his friend win a school election and make it to the big dance. Both uncomfortably real and hilariously absurd, “Napoleon Dynamite” will either make you laugh or wonder why anyone would make such a film. | Running time: 1:26 Rating: PG (thematic elements, language) | River Park Square: 1:50, 4:30, 7:05, 9:15. |
| Nascar 2D: The Imax Experience | Big-time NASCAR racing comes to the BIG screen. | Running time: :40 Rating: PG (crash scenes) | Imax (Riverfront Park): 1:40, 5:15. |
The Notebook •• | Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel, “The Notebook” tells the story of young lovers (Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams) separated both by World War II and their backgrounds (she’s rich, he’s not). The story is told in flashbacks by a man (James Garner) reading from a notebook to a woman (Gena Rowlands) in a rest home. | Running time: 2:10 Rating: PG-13 (scenes of sexuality) | Newport: 1, 3:35, 6:15, 8:50. River Park Square: 12:45, 3:45, 6:50. Coeur d’Alene: 2:10, 9:30. |
| Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Anyone who has children, a television and access to the Nickelodeon cable network is familiar with the “Rugrats” crew. A gang of mostly pre-speech diaper-wearers, the kids this time accompany the father of Tommy and Dil to Paris where he tries to fix his robot invention, which has become the center of a theme park show. | Running time: 1:26 Rating: G | Spokane Valley Mall: Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 a.m. |
Shrek 2 • 1/2 | Shrek (voice by Mike Myers) comes home to meet the inlaws. But the parents of his wife, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), are horrified at his being an ogre. Soon, Shrek is threatened not only by Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) but by the feline hitman Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas). Sequels are seldom richer and deeper than the original, especially Hollywood movies. But “Shrek 2” is the exception. DreamWorks has helped reinvent animation for the 21st century. Not just in style, which is superb, but also in theme. | Running time: 1:45 Rating: PG (some rude humor, a brief substance reference and suggestive content) | Newport: 12:40, 2:50, 4:55, 7, 9:05. River Park Square: 12:10, 2:35. Spokane Valley Mall: 1:50, 4:25. Coeur d’Alene Discount: 1:20, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 9:15. |
Spider-Man 2 •••1/2 | Still torn between his personal life and his self-imposed obligations as a superhero crimefighter, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) faces his most powerful foe yet in the octopuslike Doc Ock (Alfred Molina). Following a clever credits sequence, which tells the entire first movie in mere images, this well-made sequel plays out as a character study. Maguire is up to it, being born to play an angst-ridden post-adolescent. But Raimi – despite giving us a few fight scenes that virtually crackle with energy – goes on maybe 20 minutes too long. | Running time: 2:02 Rating: PG-13 (stylized action violence) | NorthTown Mall: 12:15, 3:05, 6:35, 9:25. River Park Square: 1:30, 4:25, 7:25, 10:10. Spokane Valley Mall: 2:30, 6:35, 9:40. Coeur d’Alene: 1:40, 4:20, 7, 9:35. Post Falls: 1:05, 4:05, 6:35, 9. |
The Terminal ••1/2 | Because of war in his tiny Eastern European country, a man (Tom Hanks) gets stranded in a New York City terminal. With no national affiliation, he can’t leave. So he settles in and gets by with the help of an airport employee (Diego Luna) while falling for a friendly flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Hanks is terrific, but director Steven Spielberg never met a maudlin moment that he didn’t moon over like a love-starved lemur. | Running time: 2:08 Rating: PG-13 (brief language, drug reference) | Newport: 2, 4:50, 7:50. Spokane Valley Mall: 6:50, 9:50. |
Troy • 1/2 | “Troy” screenwriter David Benioff has dissed Homer. He pared Troy’s 10-year war with Greece down to a couple of weekends and, in the process, turned one of the great works of world literature into a couple of maudlin love stories with less emotional fire than a Steve Reeves toga party. | Running time: 2:43 Rating: R (graphic violence and sexuality/nudity) | Garland: 4. Coeur d’Alene Discount: 1:25, 4:30, 7:45. |
Two Brothers •• | Tiger cubs are separated shortly after birth, and one is sold to a circus by the English hunter (Guy Pearce) who killed their father, the other adopted by the pampered son of a French diplomat. Years later, the two escape captivity, join up and the hunter is brought in again to use his gun. | Running time: 1:49 Rating: PG (mild violence) | Garland: noon. |
Van Helsing ••• | Besides Hugh Jackman, who plays the super vampire hunter of the film’s title, director Stephen Sommers (both “The Mummy” movies) made sure that the action scenes of this summer flick were digitally exciting, that the vampires looked toothy enough and that things blew up really good. | Running time: 2:05 Rating: PG (nonstop creature action violence, frightening images, sensuality) | Garland: 9:40. |